Aishiteru Gatti....
by Ryuugekitai25
Summary: Translation: [I love you, Gatti...] Chapter 2, 3 and 4 up now! Gatti realizes that someone from his past is destined to join paths with him again...
1. Exerpt: Aishiteru Gatti...

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Aishiteru Gatti...

Excerpt - Sora's Song

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Win dain a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta

She looked up at him, eyes sparkling. He stared back at her, the same look in his aquamarine eyes. From a distance, another boy watched with disdain, nothing but hurt and pain in his lavender eyes.

  
_Fin dein a loluca  
En dragu a sei lain  
Vi fa-ru les shutai am  
En riga-lint _  


They came closer together, pressing their bodies together in happiness. The brown-haired boy felt his heart being ripped in two as this happened, and tears shimmered in his eyes, then fell silently to his cheeks.

  
_Win chent a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta  
Fin dein a loluca  
Si katigura neuver  
Floreria for chesti  
Si entina _

His heart was going to burst....  
  
**_La la la la la la la la la... _**  


His body was suddenly in motion....

  
_Fontina blu cent  
De cravi esca letisimo _

His legs flew him towards the happy couple like an eagle....  
  
**_La la la la la la la la la..._**  
_De quantian  
La finde reve _

No! He was going to be too late....  
  
_Win dain a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta_

Their lips touched slowly, and he watched in horror as the object of his affection slipped his arms around the waist of his female counterpart, deepening the kiss she pulled him into.

  
_Fin dein a loluca  
En dragu a sei lain_

He stared, still in the shadows, as the two shared their love....

  
_Vi fa-ru les shutai am  
En riga-lint _

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Don't worry, Gatti.... She can't keep you from me, my love. Lavender eyes sparkled with a devious light as the man behind them slipped back into the shadows, where he could not be seen....

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A/N: Hey, what did you think? I know that I haven't written in a while. Feels good to be getting back into it, for sure.... Anyways, just to tell you, the proceeding ficci will have hidden 'lil hints of yaoi to it, but not much. Just thoughts, innuendos, and stuffs like that. The 'relationship' will be rather one-sided, just to let you know. Oh, if you didn't get who the characters were...

Gatti (the fought over prize ^__^)

Gabrielle (the girl he was kissing)

Dalet (the boy in the shadows)

Who is this Gabrielle, you say? She's a character that I made up, just to let you know. She will be more fully explained in the next chap. Just to inform, the next chap happens _before_ this little excerpt....

READ & REVIEW!


	2. God's Choice

5 years ago,

Red, 8th moon

"When are you going to come back?" Her small voice drifted to him, filled his ears with it's sweet sound. He sighed, pulling her ten year old body towards him and hugging her tighter.

"I don't know." He said simply, looking off into the distance. They were quiet for quite a while, just staring out at the morning sunrise as it came up. Neither said anything, nor moved much. After a while, she spoke again.

"Why are you going? There are people here that....need you." She said, choosing her words carefully. The cinnamon-haired girl stared up at her smoky-haired counterpart with glassy eyes. He stared off into the distance still, eyes glistening, refusing to meet her gaze. True, they were only ten, but still that damned emotion called love flowed heartily through both of them, though they were both too scared to tell the other. Now, it looked as if it would be too late...

"I have to. Dad said I didn't have a choice in the matter." Gatti Nero said simply, hugging her tight to him. His partner, Gabrielle, hugged his body as tight as she could, without cutting off his air supply.

"Damn that stupid rule. Damn that stupid Zaibach!" She said suddenly, startling him. He looked down at her, a small frown appearing on his face. He took up her chin in his hand, tilted her head so she was looking up at him.

"Don't say things like that, Gabby. You could die for saying things like that..." He said seriously, his eyes narrowing slightly. She sighed, shaking a little. She didn't like when Gatti got like this. All noble and sure that it was God's calling for him to be a soldier.

"But I don't want you to die, Gatti!" She said suddenly, shifting so she could look straight into his aquamarine eyes. She took up the collar of his shirt, practically hanging off him with desperation.

"Do you hear me? You could die out there, and then I would never see you again!!" She said, her eyes filling up with tears. He continued to stare at her with an icy cold gaze, one that he had only developed recently. He knew she was about to cry, but did nothing to comfort her in any way. Gabrielle let go of him, sinking into a little ball on the ground. She held her face in her hands, and Gatti could see crystal tears dripping through some of the spaces. _Just great, hotshot. You made her cry._ He thought to himself, feeling the guilt immediately rush through him, like a rush of adrenaline would.

"I..." Gabrielle stopped, thought about what she was just going to say. "You are so different from the boy I knew, only three months ago. But, no matter how much you have changed, you are still my friend, Gatti." She said softly, propping her hands up on her knees. Gatti stared at her, wondering if he should say anything.

"I'll come to visit, If I have time..." He offered, raising an eyebrow. Gabrielle stopped, stared at her friend. She got up, practically shaking with anger. Gatti watched her as she came toward him, her face beet red, fists clenched.

"How dare you! How dare you humour me like that, Gatti Nero!" She screamed at him, her little ten year old body shaking quite violently for a girl her size. She took her hand up, and with one motion, slapped him hard across the face. Gatti immediately reeled from what she had just done, eyes wide, fingers caressing the place where she had struck him. She waited for him to say something, but he didn't, so she took off and ran home...

Gatti merely sat there and watched her...

---

"Gabrielle, honey, wake up! Gatti is leaving today!" Her mother shook her shoulder a little bit. "Come on, or you'll miss him!" She said excitedly, shaking her daughter some more. Gabrielle lay in her bed, staring at the wall with blank eyes.

"I don't care about that idiot. He can leave and never come back for all I care." She said softly, her voice devoid of any emotions. Her mother stepped back, shocked. She stood there, not sure what to say. Her daughter and Gatti had always been the best of friends, but she had assumed that it was something...more.

"Come on, you don't mean that..." She said, but was roughly cut off by Gabrielle. She sat up, eyes still blank as ever.

"You see, I don't plan to become attached to that ass, since he's most likely going to go away and never come back. He's become as thoughtless and emotionless as anyone who entered that damned army in the first place." She said softly, staring not at her mother, but at the wall above her head. The woman stared at her child, sighing.

"Well, I will leave you then. If you hurry, you could see his transport through your window." She said, leaving her child's small room and returning to her morning kitchen duties. Gabrielle lay her head back down on the pillow, and resumed counting up though the numbers. This was the only way that she could possibly think of that would make sure that she was not thinking of Gatti in any way, shape or form.

She only stirred when she heard the antigrav units powering through the sky as they passed over her house.

5 years ago,

Red, 10th moon

Gatti stared in awe at the huge training centre. It was covered head to foot in beautiful frescoes and tapestries of the time, depicting the courageous knights of the Zaibach army. It truly was a sight to behold. In some of the dug out training rings, Gatti could see some of the apprentices training, with their masters watching with careful eyes behind them. He wondered briefly where he would be placed, what aspect of the military trade he would be.

"Come, gather together, you slime!" Came a voice. It was the man who had taken attendance only three or four minutes earlier. Gatti moved into a tighter pack with the other recruits, some as young as nine, and as old as eleven or twelve. The older man was standing higher than the boys, so he could see them all properly.

"As you all know, you have been picked to become the next generation of soldiers for Zaibach. Some of you have been handpicked for certain jobs, and if this is so, your background would have been researched extensively." He looked down at his sheet. "Now, when I call your name, report to the appropriate master, they of whom are standing to the sides, as you would have already noticed." The man gestured, waving his hand across the room. He looked down at the sheet again, and proceeded to roll names off the list.

Pretty soon, there were only about fifteen or sixteen boys left, and Gatti was getting nervous. He heard about this. They leave the worst boys for last, and shoved them into shovelling in the engine rooms on Flying Fortresses. It looked as though each 'master' had his standard number of recruits, so he was probably sacked.

"And finally..." Came the man's voice again, "You boys still in here, you will..." He was suddenly cut off by another man, this one about twenty or so, with bluish hair and purple tattoo under one eye.

"That is enough, I will take over from here." The man said, stepping in front of the guy. We all looked up at him, immediately filled with awe. They looked up at him, knowing that this man would take them far. No one was sure how he knew it, but they just... knew.


	3. New Arrival

3 1/2 years ago,

White, 12th moon

Folken Stratagos stared down at the sixteen boys that he had been training by hand for so long. They all knelt in their rows, looking obedient at him. He smiled at them, happy for what each had become. There were the strong ones and the weak ones, yes, but he had a feeling that they all would go somewhere.

"As you know, your time here has almost expired." Folken said softly. "And it is almost time for you all to work with each other independently, as one of the most elite of squadrons in all of Zaibach. You should all be proud." Folken said, and all the boys staring up at him cheered for their accomplishments. This was direct praise from their master, which was not something that they had gotten much of during their time under his service.

"Now then, it is time for the most important part of my job." Folken said softly. "Establishing a chain of command." At this word a lot of the boys tensed up, eager to hear what their master had to say, hoping that they would pick him. Folken walked down the line of boys, passing first the sheep-haired one, then the one with shoulder-length hair, then one with a mushroom cut. Gatti sighed when he passed right by him. His friend Shesta stared at him, sighing as well. They both shrugged, looking down the line to whoever had been picked.

Folken stopped before the strongest member of the group. The silvery-haired boy knelt there, staring up at his master, a hint of happiness shining in his eyes. Gatti had always found him odd in a way, but he knew that he was a good leader.

"Stand up, Dilandau." Folken said, making his choice by his words. The albino, garnet-eyed boy stood up, staring at Folken with a blank expression, like all the others. Folken handed the boy a beautiful, emerald coloured pendant, one that shone with some sort of inner light that was very beautiful. Truth be told, the jewel was supposed to have some sort of higher power to it, and would provide a good weapon in battle, as soon as one learned to master it.

"Take this as proof of your rank." Folken said, stepping back. Dilandau stood up and looked down the lines of his peers, now on a higher level than them. He carefully placed the jewel around his neck, and it shone there, suspended by a beautiful gold chain. Folken then stepped back, gesturing to Dilandau.

"They are your soldiers now, Dilandau. Choose someone as a second." Folken suggested, placing another pendant in his hand, this one a beautiful sea blue, also mystical and supposedly having magical properties. Dilandau took it in his hand, letting it dangle there while he walked among the boys, now his soldiers.

Gatti felt himself tense as Dilandau started walking his way, almost staring at him, as if he had already made his choice. The others watched him, and he could see some hearts break as he passed one after the other, still heading his way. Eventually, he stopped in front of Gatti, staring at him with he could only explain as kind eyes.

"Stand up, my second." Dilandau said softly, holding the gem out to him. Gatti stood up, feeling tears of happiness tug at his eyes, threatening to spill. He stood there, taking the pendant from his master. He bowed his head, officially accepting his position. He placed the gem around his neck, also suspended on a chain, but this one was of the highest quality of silver, not gold.

The other boys stood up, and Gatti could see Shesta beaming at his friend's luck from the corner. They all applauded them, whistling and hooting like mad. Gatti could feel himself blush, and Dilandau clapped his hand on his shoulder. He looked at his commander, smiling.

"This is the beginning, Gatti..." Dilandau said softly, regarding the boys applauding them. "This is the beginning...of the Dragon Slayers..." He said, formally giving the squad a name. Gatti stood back and applauded Dilandau himself, as he felt the need to. The commander, only about thirteen, smiled, feeling a blush creep up his cheeks in spite of himself.

---

Gatti let the blue pendant swing between his fingers, watching it's pendulum motion with a little bit of awe. He had no idea how to work such a pendant, but just owning it gave him such a feeling of power...

Someone knocked on the door to his quarters, and he bid them enter. The Flying Fortress of which they had been stationed, the Vione, was one of the fastest and most capable ships in the whole of the Zaibach empire, and it was an honour just to serve on it. He, unlike the others with the exception of Dilandau, got his own room, rather posh and well furnished, with huge bay windows and double doors leading onto a spacious balcony. It looked like a room that someone of royalty would use, and here he was, sitting in it!

"Commander?" Came the voice of one of the Dragon Slayers. Gatti looked to the doorway, trying to pull a faint smile. "This came for you. Lord Dilandau had it especially tailored for you, sir." The boy, Guimel, said. Gatti came up to him, taking the bundle of material from the boy.

"Tell him I said thank you, Guimel." Gatti said softly. The boy beamed, suddenly holding out his hand. Gatti stared at him, perplexed, until he explained himself.

"It would be an honour to shake your hand, sir." Guimel explained, blushing slightly. Gatti returned the smile, taking the sheep boy's hand in his own and shaking it firmly. "It would be mine, buddy." Gatti said softly, raising his eyebrow slightly. Guimel thanked him profusely, bowed, and left him.

Gatti stared at the material, starting to unfold it. He raised an eyebrow again at the rather huge shoulder pads, but said nothing of it. He decided that they made him look bigger, stronger. He put it on, staring at himself in the mirror. The uniform itself mirrored all the other Slayer's uniforms, except for one thing: It was red. The same blood red colour as his master's, sans the pointed tips on the shoulders. Gatti stared at himself in the mirror, taking in his image. It had been a long struggle, but he was finally a high placed soldier in one of the best armies of Gaea, in the best squadron of that army. What more could he desire? Nothing, surely...

Present Day,

Purple, 18th moon

"Good morning, Commander..." Came the chorus of voices from the Dragon Slayers. They all had become his friends over all the time he had known them, right from the very beginning. They knew he was authority, but treated him like he was one of them, which was the way he wanted it. He saluted them, walking down to the other side of the long set of tables, where Dilandau Abaltou was sitting, chatting with Folken, whom they were all close with. He sat down, and was greeted by Dilandau and Folken.

"Good morning, sir. Morning, Master Folken..." Gatti said formally, sitting down carefully. He was always careful when doing anything these days, as his uniform would smack into anything and everything if he was not careful. Now it was just involuntary to be like that. Almost immediately, Gatti found himself in Dilandau's conversation with Folken. They were discussing battle plans, and the prospect of attacking Asturia, since they had yet to pay damages for an airship that had been destroyed accidentally by some of the country's Guymelefs.

"What do you think, Gatti?" Folken asked, looking at him. Dilandau gave him his full attention, and Gatti felt rather privileged, since he was the only one that he really treated well. He would slap the others when he was mad at them, and Gatti didn't really approve of it, but there was nothing that he could do except talk to him.

"Well..." Gatti said, thinking a minute, "Asturia did test us when they shot that airship down..." Dilandau nodded with that statement, "But I think that an attack on them would not be a good thing at this point, as this was only a minor incident, so neighbouring countries might think that we are just making an excuse to pick a fight..." Gatti finished. Folken and Dilandau nodded in agreement, both surprised at his knowledge of the subject.

"We should include you in more of our meetings, Gatti." Folken said. "You truly have one of those rarely brilliant minds." He said. Gatti could feel himself blushing, and Dilandau nudged him slightly, winking. He playfully smacked back, causing all three to laugh at the little scene.

"Dammit, I want breakfast. I'm hungry!" Dilandau exclaimed suddenly, sounding like a whiny little child. That was his intent, of course, and Gatti and Folken laughed even harder at his antics. As if on cue, the cooks came in from a side door, carrying a large bucket of something or other for the Slayers, and something which smelled mouth watering good on plates for the 'management', as they were referred to by the Slayers.

As it happened, the Slayers were fed tasteless, watery oatmeal, while the management ended up with a nice little assortment of scrambled eggs, toast with butter, sausages, assorted fruits, and the highest quality red wine. None of the Slayers complained, merely ate their toxic sludge while watching, mouths still watering, the head boys eating and talking merrily. At first, Gatti was not comfortable with being treated so much better than the others, but when he learned that the others didn't hold it against him, he was fine with it. They just accepted it without complaint.

"So..." Dilandau said, pausing a moment. Gatti looked at him, wondering what he was going to talk about. "You know of the....situation regarding the Slayers." He said carefully, eyes averting the other's gaze. Gatti nodded slowly, feeling that pang of helplessness again. Only a few weeks ago, they had lost one of their boys, in a total accident. There had been no way to prevent it, the mechanics had said, that the 'melef was structurally weak in a place where they could not see it. Gatti remembered watching the poor boy literally falling out of the sky and hitting the ground with such force that there was a huge impact crater...and then, watching the liquid metal eat away at everything, destroying everything inside, including the boy, or what was left of him by then...

"Yes..." Gatti said softly, eating another bite of egg, thinking about it. "It was so...unfortunate..." He said, choosing his words carefully. "Are we seeking a replacement now?" He asked, catching on to what Dilandau was suggesting.

"Yes..." He said, speaking slowly and carefully. Folken sat back, watching the two with interest, wondering how they would handle this situation. "I have been scouting for someone...I don't know if they would be suitable, though..." He said, blushing noticeably.

"Go on..." Gatti urged him. Dilandau sighed, seemingly deep in thought for the moment, scratching his chin slightly.

"Well..." He said, lowering his voice. "It's a...girl." He said hesitantly, looking for some sort of approval. Gatti felt himself rock back in his chair. A woman, in the Dragon Slayers? That sounded utterly ridiculous! Before Gatti could say anything, he continued. "I have seen her in battle. She's very...impressive. Physically strong..." He continued, seemingly daydreaming a little. "Very good with Guymelefs and sword fighting..." He said, finishing.

"If she is as good as you say, master, perhaps we should interview her?" Gatti suggested, liking how this sounded. It would be a fresh, new look that no one had ever attempted before...

"Yes, I think that we will. I will call for her to be here this evening. Meet in my quarters around 8:30, ne?" Dilandau asked him. Gatti nodded, standing up to go and attend to personal business, such as the mounds of paperwork that he had to do. They shook hands, then went off in their separate directions...

Folken watched the two, amazed at their ability to effectively work together. It looked as though Dilandau had chosen the perfect second...


	4. The Flirtatious

**__**

Present Day,

Purple, 18th moon

8:30 pm

Gatti entered Dilandau's quarters, dressed in his formal battle uniform, now shined to perfection. Dilandau was sitting at a rather large desk, the type that makes you wonder who the guy behind it really was. There was a chair next to the one he was sitting in, and he gestured for Gatti to sit down.

"So, when is she due to arrive, el Capitan?" Gatti said jokingly, making Dilandau laugh, which was something that he found only he and Folken could do properly. He checked the wall chronometer, noticing that it was the appointed time.

"She's coming..." Dilandau said. "She's on her way down here, I'm told..." Dilandau said softly. As if on cue, the door to his quarters opened, and the girl walked in, moving with the grace of a professional dancer.

Gatti froze, staring at her. She was utterly beautiful, the kind of girl that you can't stop looking at and longing for. She had cinnamon brown hair, flashing sea green eyes...He felt a knot tie in his throat for the first time in a very long time. It was....

"G-Gabrielle!?!" Gatti exclaimed, catching his commander's attention. She noticed him, and immediately blushed slightly, but still sat down and kept her composure. She stared at him, her icy green eyes narrowing slightly.

"Hello, Gatti..." She said softly, looking rather pissed at him for some reason. Dilandau stared at her, and then Gatti.

"You know her, Gatti!?!" Dilandau exclaimed. Gatti nodded slowly, averting her eyes, looking at anything besides her. There was a silence between them all for a moment, before Dilandau carried on with the interview.

---

Gatti could feel his temperature rising for some odd reason. It turned out that Gabrielle was to become a Slayer, and was given her own room, which was small, but it was because she didn't want to room with men. Smart move, that. Now, Gatti sat on his bed, reading a book, trying to relax. He had gotten over her influence long ago, and now she was turning his world upside down! Why was she so angry at him, anyways?!? Just because she thought he was going to die, or never come and see her...

He realized the truth in that statement. He would have never come to see her, and would have totally forgotten about her. He wondered if she just came here to remind him who was important to him before he got involved with the empire...Gabrielle was strong and stubborn like that. He knew that she had a crush on him when they were younger, but he had always assumed that she had grown out of that... _Nonono, concentrate on the book, do not think of Gabrielle, DO NOT think of Gabrielle, **DO NOT think of Gabrielle...**_ His inner voice cried out to him. No, he was way past that. Yes, it had been hard to leave her, but he had been so sure for so long that she was out of his life...now here she came back...

The door to his quarters swished open, and someone entered his room. He raised his head, so startled that he dropped the book he was holding. It slammed into the floor, resting open at one of the pages previously read. Gabrielle stood there in the doorway, dressed in something that Gatti could only describe as fetching. It was black, like the usual Slayer uniforms, but consisted of a skin tight bodysuit, black gloves, some sort of elaborately done skirt that was done in shades of black and blue, and black boots, one going up to almost past her knee, the other just above her ankle. He was assuming that Dilandau designed that uniform...

"Stop gaping, Nero..." She said harshly, stepping into the room. Gatti looked at her, not understanding why she was so mad at him. He asked her this, and she ended up laughing, dropping the evil look on her face, returning to the girl that he had known when he was ten.

"Nani!?!?" He asked her, totally not getting what she was doing. She smiled at him in that trademark smile of hers, bounding over to where he was and hugging him hard.

"Gatti! It's been so long, ne?" She said, hugging him tight. They both stood about the same height, so he ended up looking deep into her eyes. "I came here..." She said softly, "To make sure that you didn't forget where your first loyalty lies..." She said, gently kissing his cheek, just hard enough to make pressure, but light enough that he couldn't really feel it.

Then, she smiled at him again, and bounded out of the room, locking the door behind her. Gatti stared after her, feeling very confused indeed.

---

"Oh, wow! Just look at her, Dalet! She's just so...HOT!" Migel exclaimed the next morning, feeling his body temperature rise, even though she was halfway across the room. Dalet stared at her, taking her in. He knew that he should feel something, but just sat there, thinking about something else entirely. Migel, on the other hand, had hormones raging, and it looked as though he were going to burst anytime soon.

"Hey, I'll see you later bud. I have to try my luck on her..." Migel said, taking off in Gabrielle's direction. Other boys were crowded around her, but made room for Migel when he approached her, and immediately backed off. They knew better than to mess with Migel when he was in one of these moods. Gabrielle turned her attention to him, immediately sizing him up.

"Hey. My name is Migel, young miss." Migel said in a very conservative, courtly fashion, one that made her giggle. If she wasn't already....occupied, she probably would have gone for him in another lifetime. He smiled at her, stepping towards her. "If your not busy, maybe we could...?" He suggested, making her laugh out loud. Migel stared at her, wondering what he said to make her laugh.

"Hehe.....you look so funny like that...!" She said, trailing off. That manner, plus his sexy, windblown hair was enough to set anyone off like that. He stared at her, obviously a little daunted by her actions. He then summoned some courage up again and gestured for both of them to step outside.

"Perhaps we should go someplace where there aren't fourteen pairs of eyes looking at us, ne?" Migel suggested, making her blush. Gabrielle noticed Gatti in the corner, looking like he was headed to beat someone up really soon. She got an idea, smiling. Migel mistook that as a yes, and blatantly led her outside by the hips, something she found rather...intimate. Then again, none of these boys had seen women in over five years, much less touched one. Before Migel led her out, she could see that Gatti was sitting off by himself, literally burning with jealousy. She smiled, letting Migel steer her out.


End file.
